A builder and developer who wants to see the county, cities and tribes cooperate more, a dairy farmer who wants to preserve the county’s character for future generations and a solid waste foreman who wants to complete the long list of tasks before the county all want to represent District 1 on the Skagit County Commission.

Bill Turner, Ron Wesen and Leo Jacobs are vying for the seat being vacated by Commissioner Don Munks at the end of the year.

In the Aug. 19 primary, residents within District 1, which includes Anacortes, South Fidalgo, La Conner, Bay View, Bow, Edison and the Blanchard area, will decide which two of the three candidates go on to the Nov. 4 general election. In that election, the entire county decides who serves District 1.

Wesen is the only candidate running who prefers the Republican party, while both Turner and Jacobs prefer the Democratic party. However, the Skagit County Democrats are in favor of Turner and nominated him to represent them.

The organization contributed $1,000 to Turner’s campaign, part of the $8,068 he’s raised up until July 23, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Wesen has raised $22,310 and Jacobs $1,400.

Both Jacobs and Wesen live in rural areas — Jacobs near Bay View and Wesen near Bow. Turner moved to Anacortes’ west end four years ago after living in rural areas on South Fidalgo and Skagit Valley since 1974.

“It was sort of going back home when I decided to run for county commissioner,” Turner said.

Turner, 56, is a businessman, custom home builder and developer, incorporating environmentally conscious building methods into his projects. He’s also served on the Anacortes City Council since 2006.

In 1992 he worked with Barbara Rudge’s county commissioner campaign and was John Doyle’s campaign manager in 2000 for the same office.

Turner said he wants to bring the various county entities together to heal past animosity and work on the issues to bring stability to the county.

“I think the secret to all this political stuff is building community, bringing people together, holding open public meetings, being transparent, being fair and I want to do that in an entire county sense,” Turner said.

Past conflicts between the county and Anacortes, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and farmers have made solving issues difficult and has cost the county too much money in litigation, he said.

“Solutions are not found in court,” Turner said at a candidate forum hosted by Skagit County agricultural groups on July 16. “Solutions are found sitting down together and doing the hard work.”

He said he wants to bring the concept of cities and county together under the umbrella of county government. For example, in managing flood protection local city governments will have to cooperate with the county and dike districts to come up with a viable plan, he said.

Bringing all the entities together, is going to take some new blood on the commission, Turner said.

“And it’s going to take a problem solving person like myself.”

Wesen, 49, is a self-employed farmer on the same land his great-grandparents bought in 1907. Today he works the certified organic dairy farm and 900 acres of corn and grass with his parents and four brothers.

He currently serves as a drainage and irrigation commissioner for District 16 and has served on several other agriculture organizations, such as the Skagit County Farm Bureau and Washington State Dairy Federation, and on committees for the Burlington-Edison School District.

His top three issues for the county commission are being efficient as possible with the county’s always tight budget, managing the growth coming to the county and protecting its quality of life and natural resource industries, including maritime and marine industries, forestry and timber, agriculture, and nature and agricultural tourism.

Today’s decisions on those and other issues should be based on the effects they will have in the future, Wesen said.

“I just want to make sure we make our decisions based on the next generation, not just one year or five years down the road. We need to look long-term,” Wesen said. “We have a beautiful county here and I want to make sure it stays that way.”

Along with the need to preserve the county’s farmland, Wesen emphasized the need to also maintain tide gates that prevent fields from becoming flooded with saltwater during high tides.

One way to do that is to improve ways county staff can assist farmers. One example of how it could be done differently pertains to a project he’s been working on as a District 16 drainage commissioner. The project entails removing mud accumulated around a tide gate that prevents it from opening and closing properly.

Permits for the project have come through from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

But because of delays in the county’s permitting process, the project has gone on for three years and to date has cost as much as the work itself will cost, Wesen said.

It’s been frustrating just trying to get the job done, Wesen said. And there are things the county could do so the process is not so frustrating.

Jacobs, 40, has worked in the solid waste and recycling field since 1990, previously with the City of Mount Vernon and a private company in Bellevue.

He currently works for the city of Sedro-Woolley as solid waste and fleet supervisor.

“I was hired to help fix an ailing department that was losing money and in need of leadership,” Jacobs said on his Web site. “It is now a department that is one of the most innovative waste companies in the Skagit County.”

Jacobs has worked in local government since 1998, including running for the District 1 seat in 2004 and getting 38.6 percent of the vote to Munks’ 55 percent.

He said some of the same unsolved issues from that time period remain on the county commission’s to-do list today. It’s been four years of wasted taxpayer money to not have the decisions made, he said.

“And that is going to be my biggest accomplishment,” Jacobs said. “I’m going to scratch many of these items off the list.”

The county today is missing the leadership to set goals and get things done, Jacobs said.

His concerns include wetland banking, a solid waste facility, flood issues and in particular growth management, where the county needs to be working to empower residents on issues such as the South Fidalgo, Alger and Bay View subarea plans and the Guemes Island ferry schedule.

“It really shouldn’t be us commissioners,” Jacobs said. “We should be carrying it up from the community.”

He said he’s running for commissioner to give voice to the average citizen who hasn’t had a voice in eight years.

“What I’ve seen is special interest and friends getting particular attention instead of what’s best for all and what citizens feel it is,” Jacobs said.

He said he’s worked hard to change that kind of mentality in Sedro-Woolley, all while bringing a diverse community together.

When asked the difference between him and his opponents, Jacobs said “I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I am honest and truthful and I think those are the biggest things.”

All the candidates agree that any future growth in the county should follow the state Growth Management Act, putting 80 percent of the population in the cities and 20 percent in rural areas.

“We need to make sure we strive to get to that goal,” Wesen said.

From 1996 to 2000, Turner served on the Friends of Skagit County, which promotes local compliance with the GMA. He said he’s proud of his record with the organization to save farmland.

“That’s working,” Turner said. “In my opinion that’s the correct thing we should be striving for.”

One way to do that is to make cities places people want to live with better downtowns, trail systems and transportation, he said.

Turner and Jacobs agree one tool that can help is transfer of development rights, which allows landowners to transfer the right to develop one parcel of land to a different parcel of land with the intent of shifting growth closer to municipal services.

Jacobs said the practice could encourage developers to build up in cities instead of out into rural areas.

Wesen, however, sees a lot of potential issues with the practice, one being that developers could turn a profit just by buying agricultural development rights at a low price and then marking them up.

However, all the three men agree the Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program that purchases conservation easements on agricultural land is a good program and needs to continue to be funded by the county.

Jacobs said its possible to reallocate funds in the county budget to put more resources into the program.

The need for open dialog when it comes to issues such as the South Fidalgo subarea planning process was a concern of all the candidates.

“My part of that and how poorly that went reflected to me some of the problems at the county level ... some of the lack of real public process at the county level,” said Turner, who served on the citizens advisory committee during the initial process.

He said the CAC worked for two years and came to one conclusion — the county did not need to rezone to allow for more growth. But in the end, while Turner was out of town, the group voted to suggest a blanket rezone of one lot per every 2.5 acres.

“This is my opinion — that process was hijacked by a few landowners,” Turner said.

Two years of work was lost and the public process broke down, he said.

Jacobs agreed the planning process was poorly run by the county. As it starts up again, the county needs to be more involved and help empower the residents, he said.

The task also needs to get done fairly quickly. Jacobs suggested reallocating funds so a county planner can work with the community once a week to get the job done.

Wesen emphasized the need for the county to pay attention to the public comments coming out to make sure what the South Fidalgo residents want gets done.

The practice of involving residents in the actual process will also help. An example of that is the South Fidalgo Community Council’s goal of collecting information to get more accurate maps to the county in regards to wells and septic systems, Wesen said.

The candidates see the Guemes Island ferry schedule, which was changed two years ago by the commission to include weekday evening runs, as another public trust issue.

When the county voted to extend the hours, it went against the will of the majority of islanders, Turner said.

“I want to bring back a public process that works, that is clear, that people can depend on, have some faith in, trust in the process that they get heard,” Turner said.

Jacobs clearly felt the evening hour runs should be eliminated.

“Sharon Dillon needs another reliable vote to get that schedule back to where the majority of the citizens want it, which is reduced hours, and I will be that reliable vote,” Jacobs said.

Wesen said adjusting the schedule either way would have to come down to managing the crew and looking at the cost of the program. Some say the county shouldn’t subsidize the ferry system but it’s an issue that should be weighed back and forth, he said.

As a successful businessman, Turner said he knows how to run a budget and is confident the various county departments can make the necessary 10 percent cuts to make up this year’s shortfalls. But he criticized the current commission for not taking suggestions made in 2005 to prevent the shortages until recently.

He’s also in favor of private/public partnerships with such organizations as the Skagit Land Trust to help balance future budgets and fund needed projects.

When allocating funds in the budget, the commission needs to keep in mind future generations, Wesen said. Issues the county currently spends funds on and should continue include water quality, the Legacy program and flood issues.

But he added that though there is always a good thing to spend money on, that’s only if the county has the money to do it.

“As taxpayers, we don’t like giving more money to the government than we have to,” Wesen said.

As the head of the Sedro-Woolley solid waste department, Jacobs said he knows a budget needs to be put together with several years ahead in mind, not just one. Because of that kind of thinking, his department planned for high fuel prices ahead of when it became a problem for many entities and so will be fine, he said.

Jacobs is favor of reallocating county budget funds to put more into preserving agricultural land and open spaces. He’d also like to boost the Skagit transit system, not necessarily with funding but with more coordination with state entities.

Addressing the animosity between the county and Anacortes, Wesen said he would be a new commissioner walking in with a clean slate and without the baggage of the past.

“We all live in the county and have to get along and manage the county,” he said.

Jacobs said he’s going to extend the olive branch and work with other entities. He emphasized the need to use leadership to help open the lines of communication.

One characteristic of a county commissioner, Jacobs said is being a skilled negotiator. Not all sides get all they want but all sides get some of what they want, he said.

Turner said Anacortes has not gotten a fair shake from the county. With some of the highest land values, its residents pay a lot of the taxes and should have the voice to reflect that, he said.

Top two primary

The top-two primary system, approved by voters last fall, sends the two top vote getters to the general election no matter their party affiliation.

It also allows voters to choose a candidate without having to declare a party affiliation.

Primary ballots will be mailed to registered voters Friday, Aug. 1. They are due back at the county auditor’s office or one of the ballot drop boxes by Aug. 19.

The Anacortes drop box is behind the Anacortes Public Library at 1220 10th Street.

Bill Turner

Party affiliation: Democrat

Age: 56

Years in Skagit County: Since 1974

Occupation/work experience: In general I have been a carpenter/home builder of upper end homes for 30 years. Started Mt. Erie Construction in 1982.

Education: Bachelor of arts in psychology from Vanderbilt University

Previous elected offices held: Anacortes City Council since January 2006, including representing the city on three Skagit County government committees

Civic involvement/community service: District 11 volunteer fireman 1977-1981, Christ Episcopal Church junior warden/treasurer 1986-1990, Friends of Skagit board member 1996-1999, Little League coach 1997, Anacortes School District citizen advisory committee member 1995-1998, Fidalgo Island Rotary charter member 1996 to present, District 5050 (Everett to Vancouver, British Columbia) Rotarian of the Year 1998, Fidalgo Island Rotary president 2002-2003, Celebration Lutheran Church of Anacortes treasurer 1995-2003, Etta Projects board and charter member, Anacortes Soroptimist Thrift Store lead project supervisor and Rotary Club lead to build Washington Park restrooms.

E-mail:

Web site: http://www.electbillturner.com

Ron Wesen

Party affiliation: Republican

Age: 49

Years in Skagit County: Lifetime

Occupation/work experience: Dairy farmer/businessman/self-employed

Education: Burlington-Edison High School, bachelor of science degree from Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Previous elected offices held: Drainage and Irrigation Improvement District 16 commissioner

Civic involvement/community service: Skagit County Dairy Federation president, Skagit County Farm Bureau president, Washington State Dairy Federation treasurer, American Farm Bureau Dairy Advisory Committee, Pioneers in Conservation Technical Review Team, Washington Ag Forestry Leadership Class of 22, Ag/Tribal Summit, Skagit Drainage and Fish Initiative, Burlington-Edison School District Vocational Advisory Committee and Burlington-Edison School District Facilities Committee.

E-mail:

Web site: http://www.ronwesen.com

Leo Jacobs

Party affiliation: Prefers Democrat

Age: 40

Years in Skagit County: 20 years, 15 in District 1

Occupation/work experience: Currently works for city of Sedro-Woolley solid waste and fleet divisions; worked in service sector his whole life whether it was private or government and in the solid waste and recycling field since 1990; serves on several technical and advisory committees related to solid waste and recycling in Skagit County

Education: Four years of college, two at Central Washington University, majoring in communications and sociology

Previous elected offices held: None

Civic involvement/community service: Union membership since 1990, Burlington Youth Football president five years, Burlington Youth Football coach five years, North Cascade Youth Football representative five years and vice president two years, Burlington Youth Baseball coach and board member for four years and helps the learning in action kids at Sedro-Woolley High School

E-mail:

Web site: http://www.leoforcommissioner.com